If Content Is King, Distribution Is Queen

Back in 1996, Bill Gates coined the phrase “content is king” to emphasize how a website’s content is essential in attracting visitors. The better your content, the more people would come to your site. Gates realized early on that a website is no different than a newspaper, a TV show, or a musical recording:

To get the most readers/viewers/visitors, you need a great product that people want to consume.

This new way of the world required a great deal of self-publishing. What Bill never told anyone, though, was that self-publishing takes work…a lot of work. Creating original, informative, and helpful content requires a jumbo-sized can of elbow grease andhelp from nearly every employee.

But there were — and still are — MANY benefits to creating original content. Primarily:

Search Engines Love Juicy Content

Your site’s content — as well as the content you publish via email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and so on — helps drive search engine performance. The more your company looks and sounds like a “guru” on specific topics, the more likely other sites will link to yours…and Google will reward you.

Now remember: Good social marketing requires a delicate balance of both curated and original content. Even so…

Take a moment to consider the content you create from another aspect. Your content is an asset, so the more you create, the more information wealthy your company becomes. {Tweet this.}

There’s a great temptation to borrow other people’s content and simply re-distribute it. It’s fast and easy. And it seems as though everyone is doing it. I mean, how often have you received an email or seen a tweet that simply links to someone else’s content?

Smart companies are getting leads by creating original content that matches up to the customer’s Buy Cycle and that truly engages people. How? Through a process we call Growth Cycle Marketing. Learn more in our FREE whitepaper.

Lessons Learned
In a new, more challenging era of marketing that includes more and more competitors entering your arena each day, you can do three important things to keep your marketing viable:

Own your content and make it original. It’s an asset that adds to your informational wealth. Don’t fall prey to the urge of simply re-sending other people’s content as a quick fix for staying in touch.